Cyclones kick off home season with No. 15 Texas Tech
Members of the Cyclone Softball team warm up before an inning March 29.
March 28, 2019
Iowa State will play its first home series of the season starting Friday as the Cyclones host the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The first game will be at 4 p.m. Friday at the Cyclone Sports Complex.
Following their matchup on Friday, the Cyclones and Red Raiders will face each other twice more, once at 1 p.m. Saturday and once at noon Sunday.
This matchup will put two of the best fielding teams in the nation against one another as the Cyclones have a fielding percentage of .973 which is third in the Big 12 and 22nd nationally, while Texas Tech has a fielding percentage of .979 which is second in the Big 12 and 12th nationally.
Iowa State is 17-13 (0-3 Big 12) this season while the Red Raiders are 27-5 (0-3 Big 12) and are ranked 15th in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll.
The Red Raiders have two wins against ranked opponents, one coming against the then 21st-ranked Auburn Tigers and the other coming against the then 13th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils.
Iowa State and Texas Tech are both coming off sweeps, as the Cyclones got swept by the ninth-ranked Texas Longhorns and the Red Raiders got swept by the second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
So far this season, the Red Raiders have been one of the best Big 12 teams on the mound with an ERA of 2.58 which is third in the Big 12 and 56th in the nation.
Sophomore Erin Edmundson has been key on the mound for the Red Raiders with a 13-2 record which puts her at second in wins among Big 12 pitchers and tied for 13th nationally. Edmundson also has the fourth-most strikeouts among Big 12 pitchers with 93.
Iowa State shortstop Sami Williams is ninth in the Big 12 with a batting average of .390 and Texas Tech center fielder Karli Hamilton is fifth with a batting average of .417.
The Red Raiders also have five players that are in the top 17 in batting average this season among Big 12 hitters.
Texas Tech historically has controlled the series against the Cyclones as they hold a 36-20 series lead over the Cyclones. However, the Cyclones did win the series last season in Lubbock, Texas, two games to one.
